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Monday, September 06, 2010

*These are best served right away, if you want to make ahead, read all the notes at the bottom, and do a test run beforehand. :O)

I loooooooove caramel apples. I know, I say "love" a lot, but I'm not kidding. We are really in love. I'm going to marry caramel apples, or have them at my wedding someday....or something. It's true love.

So, add this idea to my love of sticks, and mini things. I saw this is a Family Fun magazine over a year ago, I had to try it out! I made one little adaptation, the pretzel 'sticks.' I wanted the whole thing to be edible!

I found these new balls of caramel, and melted them with a little water. (I stirred every 30 seconds for about 1 and 1/2 min).

I stirred, and then dipped.

One bag of these caramels will safely make at least 5 apples (35+) mini apples. Just be careful with the water to caramel ratio when melting, or it will completely fall off the apple over time if there is too much water. (If you are serving these right away, no problem. If you are serving these later, play around with this in advance, depending on the humidity where you live, the caramel likes to fall when it's next to the wetness of the apple. I've read that freezing the apples after you dip them works, and the caramel won't completely freeze, but I haven't tested this yet. Another alternative would be to use the caramel wraps you can buy near the apples in the fresh fruit section of the store. Cut them down to size, wrap, and the caramel should stay put!).

It would be fun to also add fun sprinkles, nuts, or other toppings, but I didn't waste my time....I just started eating. I did reserve one for tomorrow's post.....In the immortal words of California's Governor circa 1990 something, "I'll be back...."

P.s. Here are a few questions/comments coming up. I used pretzel rods from Walmart. I didn't have any problem pushing them in the apple. I broke (maybe 2). I had anticipated there MIGHT be a problem, so I was prepared to 'start' the whole with the sharp edge of a knife, but they really did pop right in. A few people have said their pretzels got soggy, again it wasn't an issue for me, but I might try dipping them with toothpicks, and then replacing with pretzel rods right before serving, but I just thought I'd throw that out there. As for the melting caramel, make sure your apple pieces are as dry as possible. Pat them with a paper towel. (And see above caramel wrap alternative.) My next mini apple extravaganza is going to include a 'make your own' mini apple bar. I'm going to roll my apple bites in some lemon/water mix (thanks to the commenter on the pineapple juice who says it works as well without the aftertaste, I'll be trying this, or sprite, which I just remembered also works the same way!) to prevent the apple from turning, insert the pretzel, then provide bowls of melted caramel and toppings for the guest to make their own carameled apples. I always try ideas in advance to try to fix any of these issues, so let me know if anything else comes up! Another suggestion for the tempermental caramel is to first dip the apple in a white chocolate, let is set, then the caramel. Happy apple dipping!

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comments:

These are the cutest thing ever! I love caramel apples too but tend to avoid them since I end up covered from cheek to chin in caramel, perfect solution! Thanks for sharing, just started following you, lots of great ideas!

I really like the idea of the mini-caramel apple. I might even tackle one of these...the large ones are always too much to tackle. Thank you for sharing your great idea. I appreciate your kind words on my post. I hope that you'll come back often to explore and visit. Cherry Kay

Those are so freakin cute!!! I am going to make some for ER, I might not make cupcake but my goodness those are too adorable and easy to make NOT to! I see you linky links missy, where is one to A Crafty Soiree! You should totall add it, just because I love☺

I am SO going to try these! I love caramel apples, but they are hard to eat, plus, let's face it, you want some caramel with every bite, right? So this is PERFECT. My kids will love making these! Thanks for sharing!

We are having an "apple throw down" at my church next Sunday. It's a fundraiser for the homeless lunch program. Basically everyone votes for their favorite apple treat. I am going to make these. Any tips on how to get the stems in without breaking?

wow what a great idea!! I have tryed the little round caramel bites. did not really like them. but then i just ate them from the bag. But what I do have is the caramel that comes in the tub. do all I would have to do is dunk them. ooohhhh going to have to try this later today.!!!

I just started making these for a block party this afternoon, and by the time I had the caramel melted and started dipping, the pretzel ends were mushy and broke off. :( I only put a tiny bit of water in my mix, but all the caramel slipped off of them too. Unfortunately...I was "forced" to eat all the ones I had already dipped. It was tragic, I assure you. ;) The salty pretzels are AWESOME with the caramel apples! Hmm, on to plan B...

I, too, LOVE caramel apples! Now that fall is approaching I have been wanting to make some but being an empty nester now I really don't need a half dozen regular sized sitting in my kitchen! I could easily eat them though....I love them that much! Cannot wait to try these mini ones. Thanks for the great idea!

Oh Christie, I would never attempt making carmel apples, but you got me dying to make these. HOW CUTE, very clever. Would you PLEASE be a sweetheart and link these up to my NEW ** 6 weeks 2 Spook** party, and let my readers see. Oh I just love it girl, THANKS so much for the idea. Bella :)

Oh Christie, I would never attempt making carmel apples, but you got me dying to make these. HOW CUTE, very clever. Would you PLEASE be a sweetheart and link these up to my NEW ** 6 weeks 2 Spook** party, and let my readers see. Oh I just love it girl, THANKS so much for the idea. Bella :)

Oh Christie, I would never attempt making carmel apples, but you got me dying to make these. HOW CUTE, very clever. Would you PLEASE be a sweetheart and link these up to my NEW ** 6 weeks 2 Spook** party, and let my readers see. Oh I just love it girl, THANKS so much for the idea. Bella :)

These are so freakin adorable I've been daydreaming about these for days! lol Question - I want to make these for a birthday party; how do the pretzels hold up to the moisture? I'd like to make them half a day ahead, but if the pretzels are going to get stale, I'd have to resort to plain ol' toothpicks.

Christie, THANK YOU so much for linking up to my party ** 6 weeks 2 Spook** I love all the projects already, and not that you need me to tell you again, but this is just a super idea. If you come up with more fun halloween stuff, make sure to come back, and share. For all your other creative projects, my regular party is open al week, starting Tuesdays. THANKS again, and hope to see more of you. Bella :)

I am about to go make these for my party tonight! I hope they work out easily, since I didn't practice ahead of time. Wish me luck! I'll take pics if they do work out.. I'm using red apples instead and going to use chocolate and white chocolate to cover them along with some coconut. Mmm.. thanks so much for the cute idea!

Okay.. I made these last night and that will be my last attempt to ever do them again! lol

I found it difficult to cut deep in to the apple so they were as round as yours. I dipped them in the caramel, then froze them until party time. They ended up having the caramel melt off of them throughout the night and I ended up with a plate full of caramel. LOL! They tasted great though.

The pretzel rods ended up getting soggy and would break off if you tried to pick them up.. I broke a lot of pretzels sticking them in to the apple also.

I guess you just had good luck with making these! I think they are adorable and everyone loved them, thanks for the cute idea! Too bad they were a pain in my butt! haha...

OMGoodness!!! Thank you SOOO much! I LOVE caramel apples, but because of bad teeth, I can't bite into apples anymore. I have to cut them up to enjoy an apple, and I thought I would never taste a caramel apple again (Apples in caramel dip come close, but it's just not quite the same!) This is AWESOME!!! Wish I had a melon baller (definitely buying one!!)

I had two attempts at these! The first attempt turned out disastrous! I couldn't get the caramel to really stick to the apple and the ones that I did stuck to the wax paper and I couldn't get them off without destroying the whole thing! No bueno! AND my pretzels became soggy too after a while!

ENTER CARAMEL APPLE WRAPS!!I bought these caramel wraps in the produce section at the store and used a pizza cutter to cut them into fourths. One fourth of one was enough to cover one little apple bite. Then I melted some chocolate chips and dipped them in the chocolate using toothpicks instead of pretzel sticks. Stuck them in the fridge to set and VOILA!! they were perfect!!

Made these little bad boys for my Halloween party this past weekend (http://naughtysecretaryclub.blogspot.com/2010/10/ghoulish-grub-halloween-party-spread.html) thanks so much for the recipe. They looked so pretty and everyone seemed so impressed.

I have done these before, with a few changes. They are always a HUGE hit with kids and adults alike. Instead of caramel I use melted butterscotch chips (easier to use and hold up longer). I also use sucker sticks cut in half. Then there is no issue with the pretzel getting soggy. I made them the night before a party and they were great even 2 days later. I also add some sprinkles or chopped nuts sometimes, and they can be served in mini-muffin paper liners. One of the cutest birthday treats I've ever served. :)

I love love love this idea! So creative. Would you come over to Cast Party Wednesday and share this and your caramel apple cupcake recipe with us? And any other recipe you'd like to share would be great too!Thanks,I hope to see you there!

I didn't read all of the comments so someone may have said this - but freezing the apples isn't the best idea - I had a friend do this for caramal apples she had her wedding as favors and the apples turned soggy. When they unfreeze, they are soft and gross :-( I do plan on using the apple bar idea at an upcoming birthday party - the guests should have fun dipping their own :-)

You can keep the "apples" chilled in a bowl f water spiked with lemon juice to keep fresh. Let guests make their own from a small crock keeping the caramel warm. Use evaporated milk instead of water. Mmm.